FGGAM News just received this news release from New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran:
SANTA FE—New Mexico voters are again being given false information by a newspaper.
Saturday, a newspaper story appeared about Constitutional Amendment Voter Guides published
by the Secretary of State. He indicated it was based on what one political activist “seemed to
think” and what another one “seemed to recall.” One activist said “it seems to her” that
publishing Constitutional Amendments was “electioneering.” Another said “I seem to recall”
[certain facts] about [the color and print of] previous voter guides. Based on those comments,
the reporter implied that the Secretary of State should not print voter guides concerning
constitutional amendments, and that her name should not be on the publication. However,
Bureau of Elections Director Bobbi Shearer points out that the law says otherwise.
Shearer stated, “The Office of the Secretary of State (SOS) has no control over false stories that
may be planted in the media, and voters can be led to believe many things that aren’t true.
However, we have a sacred to duty to voters to ensure they aren’t misled by fake stories. It’s the
same as if a newspaper published incorrect polling places or the wrong day for the election. We
have a duty to tell voters what the law is and what is true.” In this instance, Shearer referred to
the following:
State law, in Section 1-16-13 of the Election Code, provides:
“In any election in which a constitutional amendment is being considered, the secretary
of state shall cause to be printed samples of the text of each constitutional amendment,
in both Spanish and English, in an amount equal to ten percent of the registered voters in
the state. The secretary of state shall then distribute the sample constitutional proposals
to the county clerk in each county, who in turn, will distribute them to the precincts in
the same manner and number as sample ballots.
This has been the law since 1953. “Previous copies of the guide bear the names of the
officeholders,” said Shearer, adding “officeholders are required by law to show they’re
complying with the directive to publish the constitutional amendments. They can’t pretend
someone else complied with the law, or that the guides are being published anonymously.”
Shearer pointed out the SOS office just in the past week or so has had to correct sensational
media stories about a “Sharpie scare,” myths about straight party voting, and political party
emblems on the ballots—all of which were false. “Questions and Answers have been added to
the SOS website’s homepage to help voters discern what is true and what is false,” said Shearer
